Asm. Rick Zbur

This measure would proclaim August 2023 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month of 2023 in California. The measure would recognize the unique benefits that breastfeeding provides, as specified, and would affirm that Californians should work to ensure that barriers to initiation and continuation of breastfeeding are removed. The measure would encourage Californians to work together to explore ways to, among other things, improve women's access to breastfeeding support services in medical, social, and employment settings.

This measure would recognize the 50th anniversary of hip hop on August 11, 2023, as a time of celebration, pride, and nostalgia for the citizens of California.

Existing law establishes the Independent Living Program (ILP) , which has among its purposes providing training in daily living skills, budgeting, locating and maintaining housing, and career planning for foster youth up to 21 years of age. Existing federal law authorizes a state, under certain circumstances, to expand eligibility for the ILP to former foster youth who have not attained 23 years of age. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, with the approval of the federal government, to amend the foster care state plan to permit all eligible children to be served by the ILP up to 21 years of age. This bill would require, by June 30, 2025, the department to develop a plan, in consultation with, among others, county ILP administrators, to, among other things, update and upgrade curriculum to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood. This bill would expand the age for all eligible children to be served by the ILP up to 23 years of age, in those counties that opt to provide those extended services. Existing law authorizes a child who is declared a ward or dependent child of the court who is 16 years of age or older, or a nonminor dependent, as defined, who is participating in a transitional independent living case plan to retain resources with a combined value of $10,000, consistent with federal law, and still remain eligible to receive public social services. Existing law requires the written approval of a child's probation officer or social worker for withdrawal of the child's savings, as specified. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. This bill would remove that monetary value limit and instead allow those nonminor dependents to retain resources consistent with federal law. The bill would prohibit those resources from being evaluated after the initial determination for the same foster care episode to determine continued eligibility for a foster care maintenance payment. The bill would also authorize a nonminor dependent who reenters foster care, as specified, and is ineligible for federal financial participation due to cash savings in an amount that is greater than allowed, to receive aid in the form of state AFDC-FC if certain requirements are met. Because counties would administer these extended benefits, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. This bill would require the council, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to oversee the establishment of, in coordination with other unspecified state and federal agencies, a nonprofit West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity for the purpose of directing comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California current ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research, and oversee that the research is available and used to inform state and federal decisions, as provided. The bill would require the entity to perform specified functions, including reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, data standardization methods, and data portals. The bill would require, by no later than July 1, 2024, the council to form a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the entity, as specified.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA requires each state agency to establish, by resolution or order, time limits for completing the environmental review of a project where the state agency is the lead agency for the project, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2031, would require a state agency, acting as the lead agency, to complete its environmental review for an electrical infrastructure project and to approve or deny the project within 2 years of the submission and acceptance of a complete application for the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use for electrical infrastructure to the state agency. If the state agency fails to meet this deadline, the bill would require the state agency to submit to the Legislature a report setting forth the reasons that the review could not be completed within the time period and identifying potential impacts to the electrical system that could result from the delay.

This measure would declare that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourage the production of cobalt and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

This measure would recognize July 17, 2023, to July 23, 2023, as Outdoor Worker Appreciation Week.